The present invention relates to music-content using apparatus and computer programs for using music content received via wired or wireless communication networks, such as the Internet. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved music-content using apparatus and computer program which are arranged to inhibit use of copied music content unless presence, within a predetermined area, of corresponding original music content has been confirmed.
Music-content using apparatus have been known, for example, from Japanese Patent No. 2639245, which allow any interested user to access a music content distribution server (hereinafter referred to simply as a “server”) via a wired or wireless communication network, typified by the Internet, purchase desired music content from the accessed server and then use the purchased music content at any desired place at any desired time. Namely, the music-content using apparatus can acquire, from the predetermined music content distribution server accessed via the communication network, desired original music content (hereinafter also referred to as original content), such as automatic performance data (e.g., MIDI data) to be used for an automatic performance of a music piece or musical score data to be used for visually displaying a musical score, so that the user, having duly acquired (purchased) the original content, can enjoy using the acquired original content, e.g. listening to the music piece, displaying the musical score or the like.
In the conventionally-known music-content using apparatus, no user is allowed to alter as desired the acquired original content with a view to protecting a copyright of the creator of the music content; instead, an interested user is allowed to copy duly-acquired original content to generate copied content. For example, an interested user of the apparatus is allowed to copy duly-acquired original content, only within a scope of personal use not intended for re-delivery to any other person, e.g. in cases where the user wants to copy the acquired original content and then store the copied content under a user-desired name, different that should facilitate subsequent identification and sort or handling of the content, where the user wants to edit part of the acquired original content (e.g., modify a tone color and/or volume balance of automatic performance data) and then store the edited content under a user-desired name. However, in each of these cases, the user is not allowed to store the copied or edited content under the same name as the original content. Namely, with the conventional music-content using apparatus, users can not only merely use duly-acquired original content but also produce and use a copy of the acquired original content.
Further, when a copy of duly-acquired content is to be produced with the music-content using apparatus, it has been conventional for the apparatus to produce the copy with quality intentionally lowered, for example, by deleting a predetermined one or more of a plurality of performance parts, deteriorating a sound quality or otherwise, so as to prevent re-delivery, to any other person, of the music content beyond a range of personal use by the user and thereby protect a copyright of the creator of the music content etc. However, although lowering the quality of the copied music content as noted above may be suitable from the viewpoint of the copyright protection, it tends to be inconvenient where the user copies the music content only for personal use. Namely, because it has been conventional for the using apparatus to produce copied music content always with a lowered quality even when the copying is just for persona use by a duly-authorized user, there would arise the inconvenience that the copied music content can not be used satisfactorily even by the authorized user having duly acquired the music content.